Alphabet just handed Waymo, its self-driving car division, a massive $16 billion check. This huge cash injection brings the company’s total value to $126 billion. That is more than double what the company was worth back in late 2024, showing that big investors are betting heavily on a future where humans no longer need to sit behind the wheel.
Alphabet acted as the main investor, but other big names like Sequoia Capital and Fidelity also joined the round. Waymo’s leaders say they have moved past the experimental phase. They now claim their cars are statistically safer than people and are ready to become a normal part of everyday life in cities around the world.
The company had a very busy 2025, completing 15 million trips across cities like San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Phoenix. Now, they want to go even bigger. In 2026, Waymo plans to launch in several more U.S. cities, including Dallas, Las Vegas, and Washington. It is also looking beyond American borders for the first time, with plans to bring its robotaxis to the streets of London.
However, this rapid growth hasn’t been perfectly smooth. Safety concerns remain a major hurdle. In December, Waymo had to issue a software recall after Texas officials reported that its cars illegally passed stopped school buses 19 times. Even more serious, federal safety regulators recently opened an investigation after a Waymo car hit a child near an elementary school in Santa Monica, California.
Even with these setbacks, Waymo is moving at full speed. This new $16 billion will help the company build more cars and improve its software. Waymo wants to prove that its “Driver” technology can handle any street in any country. As it expands to more cities this year, the company faces a big challenge: it must grow fast enough to satisfy its investors while proving to a nervous public that its robotic cars are actually safe for neighborhood streets.
